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<title>The Secret of the 2nd Street Plaza by Nomolosk</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25556305">The Secret of the 2nd Street Plaza</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomolosk/pseuds/Nomolosk'>Nomolosk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Children, Fun, Snow, Superheroes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:41:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>857</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25556305</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomolosk/pseuds/Nomolosk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A group of children play a game in the snow, while waiting- and hoping- for something wonderful to happen.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Secret of the 2nd Street Plaza</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this many years ago for a picture prompt. Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The 2nd Street plaza was covered in a thin layer of snow, and sunset painted the sky orange between the buildings. Valerie (9) and Karen (6) stood in the middle of the plaza, holding hands and swinging their arms side to side as they played their favorite game. Passing adults smiled at them as they hurried on their way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Barbarella is the best!” said Karen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Valerie shook her head. “No, Carizma!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Barbarella can beat up anyone she wants.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But Carizma doesn’t have to,” Valerie reminded her. “Remember when she got the Night Legionnaires to turn on Dr. Moon?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re both wrong, Smelter’s the best!” Diego (7) yelled, running up to join them and skidding to a stop. “He’s got that wicked melting gun!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dylan (10) and Sophy (5) weren’t far behind him, leaving black footprints on the pavement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Smelter just breaks things,” Dylan said authoritatively. “I like the Professor. He knows the answer to ANY problem. If it wasn’t for the Professor, the team wouldn’t have a chance.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I like Windshield,” Sophy stated, head held high.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Windshield?!” The others laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t have to eat bugs!" Sophy insisted, crossing her arms. "Do you know how many bugs True Blue eats in a month?”.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Diego grinned. “How many?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sophy fixed them all with a wide-eyed stare. “One. Hundred.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A chorus of gleeful ‘ewws’ echoed off the buildings around the Plaza.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok, maybe Windshield’s not so bad,” Valerie said. “At least he can trap the bad guy in a pocket of air, AND fly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The game continued, each child stating their favorite superhero, and the others picking apart their preference.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The light was fading, but none of the children wanted to go home. They started a contest to see who could jump furthest over the line running down the middle of the concrete plaza. Soon the snow covered pavement was scored by streaks and ovals where the children landed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then it happened- the secret thing no one ever mentioned except in a whisper. The plaza started vibrating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The children stopped what they were doing and looked at each other, eyes shining, grins appearing as if by magic. Everyone ran out to the middle of the Plaza and lined up holding hands. The vibration grew until finally that line in the concrete in the middle of plaza... opened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Karen, Diego, and Sophy shrieked with excitement, and Dylan, greatly daring, hopped over the rapidly widening rift. Karen would have been right behind him, but Valerie held onto her hand and wouldn’t let go. Diego might have followed, but the rift was getting wider and wider and with a sudden gulp, he turned and ran for the edge of the Plaza. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Valerie pulled Karen back to the edge, too. All three of them hopped in place, squealing “Yes!” over and over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Snow sifted down into the crack from the vibration, and Sophy still stood on the edge, looking uncertainly from Dylan to the other children.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dylan laughed and waved to her. “Go back with the others,” he called, backing away toward the opposite edge of the Plaza. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sophy took a visible breath, turned, and walked toward Valerie and Karen. But then all at once she turned again and ran for the rift. It was nearly five feet across now and everyone shouted at her to stop… but she jumped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sophy hadn’t jumped further than a foot across that evening, but she didn’t fall. Instead, she hit a solid wall of air just at the edge of the opening. It knocked her back onto her bottom. She stared, mouth open, as her favorite superhero rose up through the opening, looked right at her… and shook first his head and then his finger at her. The smile on his face softened the rebuke, and Sophy grinned up at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Behind her, Valerie, Karen, and Diego laughed and whooped, trying to draw his attention, calling out the names of the other superheros. On the other side, Dylan bent over, and it wasn’t until he looked up again that Sophy could see his white face and dazed expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Windshield continued to hover there as the plaza surface receded. Sophy stood and brushed the snow off her backside, grinning. It wasn’t long before she was close enough that Valerie could pull her up on the sidewalk. Everyone reached out to touch that wall of air, small hands gliding over the cool surface.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then the Windstorm- the aircraft the Professor had built for the team- rose up just underneath Windshield. The plaza surface began to close again, that same smooth motion, though faster now, that caused only the most minor vibration. Up on the sidewalk they couldn’t feel it at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Windshield disappeared into the top of the Windstorm. Once the plaza was completely closed up, the ship shot up into the sky on screaming jets and was lost to darkness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dylan appeared out of the dusk. He dropped to his knees in front of Sophy and just hugged her. Everyone else was still staring at the sky. None of the children said anything until Diego broke the reverent silence, speaking for all of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That… was awesome.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
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